


Soft Hands

by lalahss



Series: fics for every ship in three houses [5]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Horse Care, Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22607959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalahss/pseuds/lalahss
Summary: Sylvain has been tasked with looking after Marianne, but how will Marianne react to finding out he actually cares about her a lot? Takes place after their B-support, as a kind of A-support, before the time-skip.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: fics for every ship in three houses [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569397
Kudos: 23





	Soft Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I am getting back into the writing swing of things, so here I am with a Marianne/Sylvain piece! I might've messed up the timeline, but I do love these two!

It was a cool winter afternoon at Garreg Mach, and most students were busy preparing for the upcoming mock battle which was due to happen soon. While most of the Golden Deer were either training or napping, Marianne was minding her own business in the library, building a precarious stack of books in her arms when she heard footsteps behind her. She jumped, and the books in her arms slid around, nearly toppling to the ground when a tall man suddenly appeared next to her.

“Goddess, sorry!” Marianne started and looked up to see her classmate Sylvain next to her, who had just spoken. “I didn’t mean to startle ya, but you look as if you need a hand.”

“Uh… hello…hello Sylvain…” Marianne peeked up at him through her bangs, remembering their last conversation, and realised she was going to be in for another smiling lesson if she didn’t escape quickly. “I was just leaving, actually…”

“Oh, alright.” Marianne wasn’t sure if she could tell, but Sylvain seemed nervous. Cross? No, nervous… 

“Is… Is everything alright?” She hoped it wasn’t nervous, she thought as she looked at him. Sylvain was always unwaveringly confident, even when faced with terrifying bandits or monsters.

“Actually,” Sylvain said, running a hand through his hair restlessly, “Professor Byleth actually asked me if I could help you out with Dorte.” Marianne nodded slowly, realising he was just hesitant about talking to her, and Sylvain smiled at her. “Anyway, if you don’t want me to, I can always go back and tell them–”

“It’s alright! I mean…” Marianne blushed. Goddess. Someone comes to talk to you, she thought to herself, and you scare them off. Come on… “It’s… It’s alright. Do you mind if I get these books out first?”

“Not at all! That’s fine.” Sylvain gave her a signature smile, and she felt her heart starting to beat rather quickly. He was terrifying, she thought to herself, but he was also rather charismatic… and in any case, he was offering to help her with Dorte. That was… something, wasn’t it? He didn’t seem too afraid of her, and that was a nice change from Lysithea screaming whenever she entered a room with her in it.

She made her way to check out the books quickly, all the while Sylvain trailing behind her. Once she’d collected herself, stamped out the books, and had them stacked in her arms, Sylvain came up to her with a slightly concerned expression. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he subtly pointed towards the door, where a certain greying professor was.

“Hanneman.” He frowned, and Marianne felt her stomach flip-flop. Of course Hanneman would be there… He had to prepare his classes for the mock battle. And ‘of course’ Hanneman, the one professor who took such a keen interest in her Crest, would be there. Goddess. What would he ask her now? ‘You should let me test you for your Crest,’ or some other… terrifying question…

“What… what do we do?” Marianne could feel her body starting to shake, but Sylvain put his hand on her back. It calmed her, although she could still remember his intense conversations with her from months, weeks, days before. Days… Oh Goddess, help them both.

“We go through, and if he tries to make you talk about your Crest I’ll move us along.” He gently pushed Marianne towards the door, and she walked along in terror. Oh no oh no oh no oh no–

“Miss Marianne!” Hanneman beamed once he saw her coming, and Marianne gave him a half-hearted smile. She _had_ been practicing for Sylvain, she admitted to herself, but she still had some ways to go, and it would be strange if she said “cheese” to him with no context. Regardless, he’d just think it was a quirk of her Crest, and implore her to get it tested. Agh…

“Hello… hello Professor Hanneman…” Marianne trembled, but Sylvain gently rubbed her back with his hand. It seemed to calm her jitters, and she took a deep breath.

“What are you two doing on this fine day?” He seemed to be quite relaxed, and Marianne hoped– no, prayed– that he wouldn’t ask about her Crest. Goddess, she wouldn’t be able to handle any more queries, not while knowing she had such a… cursed Crest… especially knowing that Sylvain was right behind her and he could hear…

“We… We’re heading to see Dorte, and look after the horses.” Marianne gently moved forwards, hoping to end the interaction quickly, and Hanneman noticed. He quirked an eyebrow, and chuckled to himself.

“That sounds wonderful! I do hope you both enjoy yourselves, and take some time to rest. With the Battle of the Eagle and Lion coming up, it’s good to look after yours and Dorte’s health.”

“Yeah! Keeping our mounts in good health is of the utmost importance to us.” Sylvain seemed tense, and Marianne looked up at him. Surely Sylvain wasn’t worried about the mock battle… he was a strong fighter, and wouldn’t have any problems on the field. Maybe he was nervous about spending time with her? The thought made her blanch, and she tried to think about something else, anything else.

“Do say hello to Dorte from me,” Hanneman said kindly, and moved away. “I was hoping you’d be relaxing a bit, Miss Marianne… You do tend to worry easily.”

“Thank you…? Thank you Professor Hanneman…” Marianne sighed sadly, and as Hanneman moved out of the way of the doorway, Sylvain herded her through quickly. Once they were out of earshot, Sylvain turned to her and frowned.

“Goddess, does he not have anything better to do?” He crossed his arms, and huffed. “Surely he knows that sometimes students don’t want to be tailed by professors…”

“It’s… It’s my Crest.” Marianne paled, and Sylvain went up to her and took half the books on her stack, almost knowing she was about to break down. “He…” She tried to take deep breaths, but they wouldn’t come.

“It’s okay. We’ll get these books to your room, and then we’ll go to the stables.” He gave her a warm smile, and she felt a bit more at ease. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“Thank you… Let’s not talk about it.” If he knew she had a Crest, he stayed quiet as they started walking in silence. As soon as they made it to her room, Marianne opened the door and went in with her half-stack. She noticed Sylvain politely standing outside after she’d placed them on her desk, and appreciated it as she went to get the other books off him. He jolted a bit when she took them off him, and she realised he’d been lost in thought.

“Oh! Sorry…” He gave Marianne a rueful smile, which she tried (and failed) to return, and tried to gloss over it by saying, “Your room is much neater than mine.”

“Is… Is it?” Marianne looked incredulous, and Sylvain laughed.

“Yeah! You’ve got these neat piles, and… well… you can actually see the floor.” He gestured to her study notes, beside her bed for easy access, and whistled. “My bedside is covered in trash. You’re really organised, Marianne!”

“Thank… thank you…” She tried to smile, but found herself whispering “cheese” as she smiled at him. Judging by the smirk on his face, he noticed, but he didn’t say anything (thank the Goddess). “Are we going to the stables now?”

“Yeah! Yeah… just say the word, and we’ll be off.” Sylvain took a quick glance around her room, and Marianne found herself smiling a little bit. Wait… smiling? That was good… and unusual, but oh well.

“Al… Alright, let’s go then.” Marianne quickly moved out of her room in a nearly comical way, and Sylvain laughed as she shut the door behind her.

“Wow, that was fast! Is it that you miss Dorte, or you want me to stop looking around your room?” He immediately cringed, and before Marianne could even think of a reply, he awkwardly laughed. “Just kidding! I’m excited to meet Dorte though.”

 _That was an awfully fast subject change,_ Marianne thought to herself as they started walking. “I’m excited to see Dorte too. Whenever I see him, it fills me with…” She trailed off.

“Happiness?” Sylvain grinned, and once she looked up at him added, “when people see you, that’s what they’re filled with.”

“Who are these people?” Marianne said self-deprecatingly, thinking about all of her friends. Ignatz and Ashe were kind to her, and Claude was friendly enough… but other than them, Hanneman, and Sylvain now, nobody really paid any attention to her. It was a line from Sylvain nonetheless, so it couldn’t really be trusted.

“Well… Raphael’s always talking about how talented a healer you are,” Sylvain replied, getting carried away, “and Hilda’s always in awe of your hair. Byleth loves spending tea time with you, Leonie thinks you’re very mysterious but still lovely, and Lorenz once made a nice comment about you, so I’d say that’s a win!” He looked at Marianne with a toothy grin, only to see she’d stopped. She looked up at him with a shattered expression, and then buried her face in her hands, starting to sob silently. “What? What did I say?”

“Syl… Sylvain… Don’t say things like that when you know nobody will talk to me…” She sniffled, and felt Sylvain’s hand on her shoulder. “I’ve been a Golden Deer for longer than you, but… it feels as if the more people join our house, the more people forget about me.” At this, she felt Sylvain’s arms wrap around her, and she let out a sob. “You didn’t even notice me until Professor Byleth paired us up in battle…”

“Marianne…” She heard Sylvain sigh, and she sobbed again. “It’s true… People love being around you, and even though you don’t talk to them much, they all owe you their lives. They all care about you, even if they say nothing. Nobody… nobody forgets you. Sure, sometimes they feel a bit intimidated by you, but… never forgetting. Nobody forgets you.” Sylvain put his head on top of hers, and Marianne appreciated the warmth.

“Th… they d… they don’t?” Marianne leaned into Sylvain’s chest, and felt a hand rubbing her back. “I th… thought they all hated me…”

“They don’t, I promise.” Sylvain’s hands immediately started rubbing her back, like he’d been doing in the library earlier, and she felt a small smile break out across her face without even trying. Goddess, if one hug was enough to warm her heart…

“Oh…” She tried not to cry, but knowing the Deer loved and appreciated her, even when she was silent… “Th… thank you…”

“Thank them.” Marianne could feel the wet patches on his shirt becoming bigger and bigger, but he quickly fished a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Uh… here, I’ve got a…”

“Thank you…” Marianne took it, dabbing at her eyes, and passed it back to him. “Thank you… but are… are you sure that they all like me?” A tear slipped out of her eye, and she turned her face upwards, making him move his. His expression was genuine, open, and she felt a sense of trust between them both even while she was crying.

“Yeah.” Sylvain put a finger up to Marianne’s eye to wipe away the tear, and Marianne suddenly felt her cheek burn. Sylvain noticed too, by the looks of things, as his eyebrows raised and lips curved into a smile. “Heh, anyone who’d see you would love you instantly.”

“And that’s not just because you’ve had to comfort me, right?” Marianne unknowingly smiled at him, and Sylvain’s smile got wider.

“Of course not! I mean… everyone thinks you’re cute.” Marianne gave him a questioning look, noting his choice of words. “I mean… well… uh…” He took her hand, and rubbed the top of it with his thumb. “If only I’d known sooner that all I had to do to get you to smile was to let you know that everyone likes you, I would have done that the minute we met.”

She felt her face, and realised there was indeed a smile across it. “Well… better late than never, right?” 

“Absolutely.” With the hand he was holding, he squeezed it comfortingly, and she basked in the comfort of his touch. It was unfamiliar, but oh so lovely at the same time. While they walked over to the stables, she pondered over what he’d said. She was cute? People liked her? She was an asset to their house? The thoughts filled her heart with warmth, and her smile seemed to only grow wider across her face. She didn’t even need to say cheese, she thought to herself as they came close to the stables.

It was a homely place, Marianne thought to herself as she and Sylvain went inside and over to the horses. Dorte immediately recognised her footsteps and let out a whinny, to which Marianne reacted by pulling Sylvain in the direction of his pen. Sylvain cried out, but immediately quietened when he saw Marianne’s steed.

“Dorte!” Marianne smiled as Dorte leaned his head over the door to his pen. “How are you?” She gave his mane a tussle as he headbutted into her hand, making affectionate noises. “You’re so lovely!”

Dorte whinnied in response, and Sylvain laughed. “He’s adorable,” he said warmly, holding out his hand for the horse to sniff. 

“He’s very adorable, yes…” Marianne could feel the blush on her cheeks, and Dorte seemed to notice. He butted Sylvain’s hand with his nose, and Sylvain laughed. “He trusts you too…”

“Maybe it’s my charm?” He gave Dorte a ‘winning’ grin, which Dorte seemed to snort at. “Or maybe it’s because Marianne’s smiling so much!”

“Maybe so.” Marianne turned to Dorte and gave him a gentle stroke along his mane as she unlatched the door to his pen. “In any case, I need to clean his stable and refresh his hay. Did the Professor tell you about that?”

“No, but I can help with that!” Sylvain followed Marianne in, and immediately wrinkled up his nose as he entered. “Oooh… yeah… I can smell why.”

“Does your wyvern not smell like this?” Marianne frowned, making Sylvain laugh as he leaned against the wall of the pen.

“Well… I do clean his stable on occasion, but most of the time I ask Claude to help me with it, as kind of a two-for-one deal.” He grinned, and Marianne furrowed her brow.

“Does he mind? I’d expect that to be something Hilda would do, not you.” She quirked the edge of her mouth in a half-smile, and the shocked expression on his face brought an oddly jovial feeling to her heart.

“Well– hey! You smirked at me!”

She laughed, and went to reach for a rake in the corner of the pen. However, before she’d turned around to start sweeping, Sylvain put his hand on her shoulder. She paused, unsure of what to do, as he took the rake out of her hands.

“I’ll clean up. Don’t worry about it. You’ve had a hard day, and I’d rather I deal with the smelly pen than you.” His voice was softer than usual, and somehow it made his previous Hilda-esque comments feel… different. As if he liked helping her.

Her heart was buzzing, but she nodded, staying completely still. Sylvain didn’t move his hand from her shoulder, and slowly she could feel her body warming up as his breath wafted onto her. She blushed as she realised his hand was much bigger than hers, and it was quite soft even through the layers of her uniform. They were the firm hands of a noble, and even though she’d heard shocking rumours about what Sylvain got up to in his room, they seemed pure somehow as well. He started to rub her back, and her thoughts began to dissolve as she focused on his touch, and the shivers that started to go down her body.

They stood like that in a strangely comfortable silence for a while, his hand on her back, until Dorte whinnied loudly, annoyed at not being the centre of attention. In a flash, Sylvain quickly moved his hand and started sweeping the floor, as Marianne mumbled an excuse about hay as she darted out of the pen, face burning as Sylvain vigorously started sweeping behind her. Oh Goddess… what had they done? And why did it feel so right? Her mind raced as she too raced outside, nervous and unsure.

The hay was in piles outside the stables, as it was a fine day. In the cool afternoon breeze, Marianne had space to think as she started moving a big bundle of hay. Sylvain was known as a serial philanderer across the entire monastery, but he seemed genuine with her. More genuine than she had ever seen him being around other girls, anyway, even with his constant mentioning of smiles… However, she could appreciate that his presence was comforting in the barrenness of her life, and his eagerness to help her was… different… But why did she still feel so nervous?

Inexperience? It seemed about right, given his many encounters with women and her… lack of any encounters, regardless of gender. She picked up the stack, and made her way back inside, still nervous but more settled in herself. As she paced down the pens, she could hear Sylvain talking and Dorte making grunting noises, but it wasn’t until she was outside the pen that she could tell he was talking to himself.

“Well, Dorte? What does Marianne like?” A little grunt, and a sigh. “She’s so guarded, and I wish I could help her open up in some ways… but then again, I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.” 

Hmm, she thought to herself. He seems… genuinely concerned. The idea of it touched her, and she leaned into the door, hoping to hear more. 

“Yeah, yeah… take her horse riding, but I somehow feel like you want her all to yourself! Ha…” Dorte whinnied, and Sylvain laughed. “Okay Dorte! No horse riding! But still… I want to have more times with her like this. Just us, doing things, being happy… I’m kind of worried about pushing her too much though.”

Her heart felt warm. He cared about her a lot, and that alone meant a lot to her. Aside from Maurice, he seemed to be the only one who wanted to get to know her, although it was a tad presumptuous to say that given Sylvain hadn’t seen her vulnerable before today.

Marianne figured she ought to go in sooner rather than later, and opened the door quickly before she could decide against it. She saw Sylvain with a big grin on his face as she walked in, and then saw all of the mess on the floor tidied into a neat corner, rake against it.

“Huh…?” She wondered out loud, and Sylvain winked as she met his eyes.

“All done and dusted!” He looked proud of himself, and Marianne smiled warmly. He was incredibly excitable about everything, it felt. “Now, let’s get this hay in, and then we’re done!”

“Heh…” Marianne went up to him, put down the hay, but then frowned pitifully towards the pile of mess. Oh Sylvain… “We do have to get the muck out of here before we put down more hay…”

“Yea– oh. Yeah.” Sylvain blushed, and put a hand in his hair as he looked over at it. “Yeah.” He picked up the bundle, and Marianne laughed as he scrunched up his face. “Ugh… it still stinks though! Although,” he added, “your laugh definitely makes it all worth it.”

“Heh… thanks, Sylvain.” She was sure he could see the colour in her cheeks, but she unbundled the hay and set about making Dorte comfortable as Sylvain left, making a disgusted noise once he thought she was out of earshot. It was cute, she admitted to herself. Very cute.

Once she’d finally put the hay down, Sylvain returned, with something behind his back. Marianne looked at him quizzically, but before she could speak, Sylvain pulled out an apple. 

“Dorte! Look what I’ve got for you!” Dorte gave an excited whinny, and Marianne laughed gently.

“I’ve got some feed for him now… Do you want to help me feed him?”

“I’d love to.” Sylvain gave Marianne an intense look, which in hindsight was adorable but in the moment felt electrifying. “If you’re there…”

“Yes… ah…” Marianne felt the words evaporating from her mind, and she could only point into the corner of the stables. Sylvain nodded, and whizzed off, leaving her to give Dorte a quick brush before dinner.

After Marianne had groomed Dorte, and Sylvain had brought a comically large bag of feed for Dorte, they eventually sat outside on the grass to watch the sun set while Dorte munched on his food. As the sun dipped over the horizon, Marianne thought back on what Sylvain had said earlier. He wanted to spend more time with her, and she liked him… and that did suggest that he liked being around her… but could she know for certain? They _had_ shared a strong look, but… that could’ve been for anything…

“Sylvain?” She asked softly, nervous of what she was about to ask. Closure, she told herself, closure, because maybe we’re just friends…

“Yeah?” He turned to her, and in the orange light he looked so warm to her, and so gentle. It was hard to be intimidated of him after their time together, she decided, and he’d understand what she was saying… surely…

She took a deep breath. “Would you like to…” She paused, and blushed. Sylvain waited patiently, holding her gaze. “Hold… Hold my hand?”

Sylvain blushed too, as far as Marianne could tell in the light. “I would be honoured to.”

Marianne looked down and slowly extended her hand across the grass, blade by blade, until it met Sylvain’s hand, which gently enclosed hers. His hands were warm, and she found that her nervousness faded away as he laughed, at which point she looked from their hands to Sylvain’s eyes. Goddess. She’d never fallen for anyone before, and seeing his warm eyes made her heart leap and hands tremble a bit.

“Hey, it’s okay… I won’t hurt you.” Sylvain’s whispers were soft and gentle, and Marianne smiled and closed her eyes as he continued. “You’ve been smiling so much today, and I want you to know that I love seeing each and every one of your smiles. All of them are so beautiful, ju–” He stopped, and then started again. “You’re so beautiful, no matter what… Oh Marianne, I don’t want to use any lines on you because you deserve better than that, so… please forgive me, and I haven’t known you like this for very long, but I’d love to… I’d be over the moon to get to know you better.”

“I’d love for that too.” Marianne sighed, and opened her eyes again to see his eyes looked imploringly into hers. “Shall we meet again after the mock battle?”

“Yes, I’d love for that to happen.” Sylvain grinned widely, and Marianne felt a warmth settling in her stomach. “The day after?”

“Yes! I mean… yes.” They both laughed, and she added, “I don’t think Dorte will mind coming along on a picnic, so shall we meet here?”

“Yeah, sure! I mean… so long as Dorte doesn’t mind.” Sylvain cringed, but Marianne took her other hand and brushed it against his cheek.

“Dorte won’t mind. He likes you!” Sylvain’s face was hot to the touch, but his skin was extraordinarily smooth. “If he didn’t like you, he would’ve kicked you once you got behind him.”

“Ah! Oh, okay…” Sylvain smiled warily, and took Marianne’s free hand with his other hand. “In that case, see you here after the battle, in the morning?”

“Yes!” Before Marianne could say anything more, Sylvain brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Oh– oh…”

“Oh sorry…” His face crumbled. “Do you mind?” Sylvain’s lips were now a hair’s breadth away from her fingers, and she could feel the beginnings of peach fuzz along his upper lip as they brushed against her hand.

“No, not at all.” She laughed, and Sylvain kissed her hand again, and she chuckled softly. “That feels… lovely.”

He smiled, and it caused his lips to gently touch her fingers again. “Great! I know I don’t want to, after all this, but I think we might need to go to dinner.”

The orange light that was on them was now like an inferno. “Oh Goddess! Yes, we… we should go.” They let go of each other’s hands, Marianne’s feeling suddenly cold, and both stood up, brushing grass off their clothes. However before Marianne could head off, Sylvain quickly stepped in front of her.

“Before we go…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief she’d been using earlier. “Keep this.”

“Are you… sure?” Marianne frowned.

“I’m sure. Just in case you need it.” He grinned, and as he passed it to her, she felt their fingers touch for a split second, sending warmth all across her body.

“Thank you.” Marianne pocketed it, and moved to beside Sylvain. “It means a lot to me that you’d spend time with me like this.”

“Aww, don’t worry! I like spending time with you, especially when we’re smiling and holding ha– I mean, enjoying ourselves.” He gave her a warm look, then held out his hand, which Marianne took.

“I like holding your hand too.” And with that, they both walked towards the dining hall, Marianne feeling more loved than she ever had before.


End file.
